Dairy-Free Fresh Mint Ice Cream

Ice cream is one of summer’s great indulgences. Ice cream calls to mind warm summer days, laughter, and the sweet deliciousness dripping down the side of the cone faster than our tongues can catch it. The problem is that traditional ice cream is made of cream, sugar and often includes emulsifiers like Mono and Diglycerides as well as dyes, carrageenan and so-called “natural” flavors. Conventional ice cream is often excessively high in sugar and can take us on a blood sugar roller coaster ride. Dairy is also known to increase inflammation in the body and often contains growth hormones that can do us harm. So how can we make it better? Easy, make it yourself!

Ice cream is one of the simplest things you can make. It literally takes 3 basic ingredients and a blender. Better still you can get creative and make any flavor you fancy. Strawberry basil? Blueberry lavender? You can do that! This is my basic recipe for my all-time favorite ice cream flavor Mint Chocolate Chip. The guar gum helps the texture of the ice cream to feel smoother. If you object to guar gum you can skip that ingredient. This version is lower in calories than traditional ice cream made with whole milk (by about 2/3), lower in sugar, and uses actual natural ingredients. This does not mean you should double down when eating this! Coconut is still a high fat, high calorie food and should be eaten in limited amounts.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (full fat)

½ cup fresh mint leaves

½ tsp peppermint extract

1 cup hemp/flax milk

½ cup maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup non-dairy chocolate chips

1 ½ tsp guar gum

Method of preparation:

Place the mint leaves, coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract in a high-speed blender. Process until smooth and creamy.

Add chocolate chips and pulse until chocolate chips are broken down.

Add the guar gum and blend a little more just enough to incorporate it.